January 16-21, 2018

Newsletter

January 16, 2018

Faculty News
New Faculty:

Photo of Dr. Payman Dehghanian

SEAS welcomes Dr. Payman Dehghanian, who officially joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering on January 1 as an assistant professor. Dr. Dehghanian earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University in 2017. He conducts research on power systems engineering, and his specific areas of interest are: power system reliability assessments and asset management tools; distribution automation distributed generations; power system resilience enhancement; weather-driven modeling; and electrical cybersecurity. Dr. Dehghanian was named the 2016 Best Engineering Graduate Student in the State of Texas (awarded by Texas Engineering Foundation Board of Trustees), and he received the 2015 IEEE-HKN Outstanding Young Electrical Engineer Award (awarded by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering’s Educational Activities Board). In 2016 and 2017, the Global Power and Energy Academic and Professional Community also selected him as a “World Top 20 Young Scholars for Next Generation of Research in Electric Power Systems.”

 

Awards & Honors:
Dr. Suresh Subramaniam (ECE) has been selected as an IEEE Communications Society Distinguished Lecturer for 2018 and 2019. As an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer, he is expected to deliver several lectures on tour on behalf the IEEE on topics of his research interest. His current interests are elastic optical networking, data center networking, and cloud computing.

 

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has elected Dr. Mona Zaghloul (ECE) to the rank of Fellow. The NAI announced its 2017 class of Fellows on December 12. The NAI Fellows Selection Committee chooses as Fellows those who have “demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.” Dr. Zaghloul is the first SEAS professor to achieve this rank, which recognizes her as a truly prolific academic inventor. More information is available in the GW Today article “SEAS Professor to Be Inducted in National Academy of Inventors.”

 

Research:
Dr. Matthew Lumb (research scientist, ECE) has received a two-year, $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the project “Micro-scale Ultra-high Efficiency CPV/Diffuse Hybrid Arrays.” Through this project, Dr. Lumb and GW will lead a new research effort in collaboration with several government, university and industry partners, including the Naval Research Laboratory, Northwestern University, MIT, Veeco, and X-Celeprint. They are working to develop a new, high performance concentrator photovoltaic module that is fully integrated with conventional flat plate photovoltaic technology, with the goal of producing an extremely high efficiency solar module capable of capturing both direct and diffuse light. The enabling technology is micro transfer printing, which allows precise, highly-parallel assembly of micro-scale solar cells and the heterogeneous integration of materials produced on different substrates. The new hybrid photovoltaic modules have the potential to harvest more energy from the sun than ever demonstrated before and increase the commercial competitiveness of concentrator photovoltaic technologies in a broad range of applications.

 

Media Mentions:
On December 12, WUSA-CBS 9 spoke to Dr. Amir Aslani (ECE laboratory manager) and Dr. Payman Dehghanian (ECE) in the segment “ Verify: Could plugging a space heater in a power strip cause a fire?"

 

On January 3, Al Jazeera Network aired an episode of its “Expatriates” program, in Arabic, featuring Dr. Tarek El-Ghazawi (ECE). The episode included comments from some of his colleagues at GW. It was filmed at GW and in DC, as well as at Exeter (United Kingdom), where Dr. El-Ghazawi was giving a keynote address at an IEEE international conference. The full program can be found on Facebook.

 

For its December 21 “Is it Worth It?” segment, NewsChannel 8 spoke to Dr. Samer Hamdar (CEE) about online carpooling services and whether they work better than mass transit.

 

Publications:
Dr. Lorena Barba (MAE) and her collaborators have published the following journal article: N. R. Rougier, K. Hinsen, F. Alexandre, T. Arildsen, L. A. Barba et al. “Sustainable computational science: the ReScience initiative,” PeerJ Computer Science. Separately, she and her graduate students published: N. C. Clementi, G. Forsyth, C. D. Cooper, and L. A. Barba. “PyGBe-LSPR: Python and GPU boundary integral solver for electrostatics,” Journal of Open Source Software.

 

Dr. Ahmed Louri (ECE) and his research team have published the following recent articles, based on work funded by grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the David and Marilynn Karlgaard Endowment:

 

  1. J. Wu, A. K. Kodi, S. Kaya, A. Louri, and H. Xin. “ Monopoles Loaded With 3-D-Printed Dielectrics for Future Wireless Intrachip Communications ,” IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, pp. 6838-6847, Vol.65, No. 12. This is the first work that physically demonstrates, through 3-D printing fabrication, the use of wireless interconnects for on-chip multicore communications in the 60 GHz range.
  2. H. Zhang and A. Louri. “ EZ-Pass: An Energy & Performance-Efficient Power-gating Router Architecture for Scalable NoCs ,” IEEE Computer Architecture Letters, Vol. PP, Issue 99. The work shows an innovative way of speeding up communications on future parallel computing chips while consuming very little energy.

 

Dr. Louri and his research team also published the conference paper “Reconfigurable Intra-chip Antenna for Future Wireless Communications” at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, National Radio Science Meeting, URSI-2018, held January 4-7 in Boulder, CO. This work is funded by the NSF and introduces a reconfigurable intra-chip antenna system to provide wireless links gain that can be used in future wireless intra-chip interconnects with applications to multicore architectures and system-on-chips.

 

Dr. Kausik Sarkar (MAE), Dr. Lijie “Grace” Zhang (MAE), and doctoral student Mitra Aliabouzar have published the following paper: M. Aliabouzar, S-J Lee, X. Zhou, L. G. Zhang, and K. Sarkar. “Effects of scaffold microstructure and low intensity pulsed ultrasound on chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells,” Biotechnology & Bioengineering, 115, 495-506.

 

Dr. Kausik Sarkar (MAE) has published the following paper with his doctoral student Krishna Kumar and a collaborator: K. N. Kumar, S. Mallik, and K. Sarkar. “Role of freeze-drying in the presence of mannitol on the echogenicity of echogenic liposomes,” Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 142, 3670-3676.

 

Dr. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE), his doctoral student Ted Baker, and their collaborators at Idaho National Laboratory have published the following paper: T.E. Baker, A.S. Epiney, C. Rabiti, and E. Shittu. “Optimal sizing of flexible nuclear hybrid energy system components considering wind volatility,” Applied Energy, 212 (2018), 498-508.

 

Dr. Murray Snyder (MAE) published the following journal article with his former M.S. student: M. Bornemeier, G. Karpouzian, and M. Snyder. “Helicopter Pilot Performance Metric in Shipboard Launch and Recovery,” Naval Engineers Journal, No. 129-4, December 2017, pp. 65-74.

 

Dr. Volker Sorger (ECE) and his students and collaborators have published the following paper: V.J. Sorger, R. Amin, J. B. Khurgin, Z. Ma, and S. Khan. “Scaling Vectors for Atto-Joule per Bit Modulators,” Journal of Optics, 20, 014012 (2017).

 

Dr. Vesna Zderic (BME) and her students and collaborators have published the following papers: 1) A. Kline-Schoder, Z. Le, and V. J. Zderic. “Ultrasound-Enhanced Drug Delivery for Treatment of Onychomycosis,” Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, 2017; and 2) I. Suarez Castellanos, T. Singh, B. Balteanu, D. C. Bhowmick. A. Jeremic, and V. J. Zderic. “ Calcium-dependent ultrasound stimulation of secretory events from pancreatic beta cells,” Journal of Therapeutic Ultrasound (2017).

 

Conferences & Presentations:
Dr. Tarek El-Ghazawi (ECE) served as the general chair for three co-located conferences, held December 18-20 in Bangkok, Thailand: the 19th IEEE International Conference on High-Performance Computing and Communications, the IEEE Third International Conference on Data Science and Systems, and the IEEE 15th International Conference on Smart City. During the awards ceremony, the IEEE Technical Committee on Scalable Computing presented Dr. El-Ghazawi with the IEEE Outstanding Leadership Award.

 

On January 10, Dr. Kim Roddis (CEE) served as lectern session moderator and panel organizer at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting at the Washington Convention Center. The session title was “Advances in Steel Bridges.”

 

Dr. Kadek Hemawan (research scientist, CEE) was in Indonesia for the week of December 18-22, as one of 40 scientists worldwide invited by the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education and the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia for the 2nd World Class Scholars Symposium. Dr. Hemawan presented a talk in Jakarta on carbon material and investigated potential research funding collaborations. At the Udayana University, Bali, he delivered a public lecture on study abroad and on how science impacts society. Dr. Hemawan’s research focuses on plasma processing, CVD diamond materials, and high-pressure extreme environment, and he works with Dr. Russell Hemley (CEE).

 

Other News:
On January 8-10, GW’s Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) hosted a three-day meeting in the SEH of the leadership of ISO Technical Committee 207. Committee 207 has been responsible since 1993 for creating and promulgating international environmental management standards such as the ISO 14000 series, and this meeting laid the groundwork for the Committee's 2018 agenda for improving and creating additional standards. The 25 leaders assembled came from Canada, the U.K., China, Japan, Germany, Tanzania, Colombia, Mexico, and other countries from among the more than 80 that make up the Committee. Dr. Joe Cascio (EMSE) gave a warm welcome that included some interesting and distinguishing attributes of GW, the SEH, and GW's commitment to sustainability.

 

An Unsupervised Method for Word Sense Tagging using Parallel Corpora,” a paper authored by Dr. Mona Diab (CS) and Philip Resnik in 2002, has been nominated for the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics’ Test-of-Time Paper Award. The purpose of the award is to recognize influential and inspiring computational linguistics papers that were published between 2002 and 2012 at/in the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL) conferences, workshops, and journals and have had long-lasting influence.

 

Student News
MAE sophomore Delaney Foster was featured in the January 11 GeekWire article, “Unified Robotics program for intellectually disabled students looks to keep growing.” Dr. Chung-Hyuk Park (BME), with whom Delaney conducts research, was also quoted in the article.

 

Students of Dr. Murray Snyder (MAE) and Dr. Taeyoung Lee (MAE) presented several peer-reviewed conference papers at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) SciTech Forum, held January 8-12 in Kissimmee, FL. SEAS undergraduate Jeremey Waldron, graduate students Kanishke Gamagedara, Kalpesh Patil, David Phelps, and Tuya Takami, and French Air Force Academy students Agnes Robaglia and Simon Libine presented the following papers: 1) K. Gamagedara, K. Patil, T. Lee, and M. Snyder. “Vision-Based Relative Localization for Airborne Measurements of Ship Air Wake,” AIAA 2018-0527; 2) D. Phelps, K. Gamagedara, J. Waldron, K. Patil, and M. Snyder. “Ship Air Wake Detection Using Small Fixed Wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle,” AIAA 2018-0784; and 3) A. Robaglia, S. Libine, K. Gamagedara, K. Takami, M. Snyder, and T. Lee. “Autonomous Landing of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle on a Moving Ship,” AIAA 2018-1461.

 

Other News
Mackenzie Albach recently joined SEAS as assistant director of graduate marketing and recruiting. She is responsible for creating and managing the school’s comprehensive marketing strategy to support graduate recruitment, student services, and career services efforts. This includes web and social media management, as well as creating and coordinating marketing deliverables. She also actively recruits prospective graduate students for SEAS throughout the country and abroad. Mackenzie has a Bachelor of Arts in geography from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Urban Planning, Design, and Development from Cleveland State University, where she also worked for nearly four years as a senior admissions counselor. Mackenzie also has a Master Certificate in geographic information systems.

 

Erin Yingling is the new associate director of graduate recruitment and admissions at SEAS. In this role, she is responsible for managing a strategic and comprehensive recruiting strategy in domestic and overseas markets and overseeing the school's admissions and visa document processing for incoming graduate students. Erin has a Bachelor of Arts in intercultural communication from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Arts in international affairs from Florida State University, after which she completed internships in South Korea and Italy. Erin previously held positions in international and higher education with American University Washington College of Law, American Councils for International Education, and Arcadia University.

 

Job announcement: ECE Graduate Research Assistant - Solar Power Research
The ECE department seeks a graduate research assistant to assist in the development of photovoltaic module construction methods, using both CAD modeling and experimentation with practical assembly methods, to achieve a precise, robust and repeatable optical alignment of the solar panel components. The candidate will also assist in analyzing data collected from assembled solar panels, measured in both laboratory and outdoor environments, and comparing these to model predictions of panel performance. The candidate will require strong analytical and communication skills. Experience with CAD modeling software such as SolidWorks is highly desirable. Basic knowledge of different photovoltaic technologies, photovoltaic characterization methods and basic geometric optics is also highly desirable. No US work authorization is required for the position. For a full position description and to apply, please see the position posting on Handshake.

 

The deadline to apply for the third round of competition for the Duke Energy Renewables Innovation Fund is January 19. Proposals are being accepted for research related to energy—either directly or indirectly—through issues such as water, climate, food, cities, or policies. Faculty are encouraged to think broadly. The maximum award amount is $85,000. See the 2017 RFP.

 

SEAS Events
BME Seminar: “Magneto-Caloric Materials for Something Other than Refrigeration: Super-Resolution MRI and Neuro-Stimulation”
Speaker: Dr. Mladen Barbic, Senior Scientist, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus
Wednesday, January 17
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
SEH, B1270

 

MAE Seminar: “Multi-Scale Modeling of Nonequilibrium Gas and Plasma with Applications to Hypersonics and Space Propulsion”
Speaker: Dr. Iain Boyd, University of Michigan
Thursday, January 25
2:00 – 3:00 pm
SEH, B1220

 

MAE Seminar: “Coupling between Geometry and Mechanics in Locomotion and Embryogenesis”
Speaker: Dr. Jerzy Blawzdziewicz, Texas Tech University
Monday, January 29
2:00 – 3:00 pm
SEH, B1220

 

MAE Seminar: “Study of Interfacial Phenomena for Applications in the Development of Ceramic Materials and Biotechnologies”
Speaker: Dr. Tao Wei, Howard University
Thursday, February 8
2:00 – 3:00 pm
SEH, B1220

 

Entrepreneurship News & Events
2018 GW New Venture Competition
Apply to Compete
Submit your concept or idea for your startup, business, or social enterprise by January 31. Compete for the chance to win up to $300,000 in total prizes. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to get funding for your idea!

 

Office Hours for 2018 New Venture Competition Submissions
Monday, January 22 – Friday, January 26
3:00 – 8:00 pm
GW Innovation Center
The deadline to submit your application to compete in the 2018 GW New Venture Competition is January 31. Come to office hours to get your questions answered and get help from the directors of the competition.

 

Workshop: “Designing Solutions to Social Challenges”
Thursday, January 25
5:45 – 7:30 pm
District House, B117
Register
Social entrepreneurs and innovators around the world are tackling some of the most complex and challenging social problems of our time. These innovators use the human-centered design and design thinking methods to provide impactful solutions in the US and across the globe.
This experiential workshop exposes those in the nonprofit and social impact sectors to the tools and tactics used by those innovators and entrepreneurs. Join us to learn more!

 

Workshop: "The Business Model Canvas: Does your innovation create, deliver, and capture value?”
Tuesday, February 6
5:30 – 7:00 pm
GW Innovation Center
Register
This hands-on workshop will include a brief overview of the business model canvas, the current state-of-the-art form specifying the nine key elements of a startup venture. Instructors will then hold individual advising sessions to help students create a canvas or improve the canvas for their particular startup idea.

 

George Hacks: Medical Hackathon
Saturday & Sunday, March 24-25
Registration opens in early February
George Hacks is a new student-led, 24-hour innovation competition at GW that is open to students from for all majors and is breaking from traditional hackathons meant for computer science majors. Pitches will address needs for patients battling cancer, medical and social innovation solutions for the aging community, and more! 100 participants will participate in teams of four that will compete for prizes! Please email [email protected] to receive registration information, to apply to be part of the student organization next year, or to volunteer for our inaugural event in March. For additional information, visit the georgehacks.org website. This event is sponsored by SEAS and GW’s Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

 

Research Events
Cayuse Electronic Proposal Routing Training
Wednesday, January 17
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Rice Hall, 601
More information
No RSVP is required.

 

NCURA Region II Professional Development Workshop: “Hot Topics in Research Compliance”
Tuesday, January 23
9:00 am – 4:30 pm (breakfast served at 8:30 am)
Marvin Center, 302
More information and to RSVP
A review of case studies, constructed using real life scenarios, serve as the core of this workshop. A registration fee of $175.00 includes electronic workshop materials, continental breakfast, and lunch.

 

Faculty Research Salon: “Virtual/Augmented Reality”
Tuesday, January 23
12:30 – 2:00 pm
Gelman Library, Faculty Lounge (B05) (Faculty ID card swipe access required)
More information
Register online

 

Post-Award Management Training Series: "We Have Been Awarded! Now What?”
Tuesday, February 13
9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Marvin Center, 307
More information
Register online

 

Dissertation Defenses
Student Name: Azrah Anparasan
Dissertation Title: “Humanitarian Cargo Transportation: Modeling Realistic Network Topographies and Decentralized Planning Scenarios”
Advisor: Dr. Erica Gralla (EMSE)
Monday, January 22
12:00 – 2:00 pm
SEH, 2000